Pride In Sophocles Antigone

What is more powerful, pride or stubbornness? In Sophocles’ tragic play, Antigone, Antigone is fighting against Creon because of the edict to not bury Polyneices. Antigone is headstrong and stubborn, while Creon is prideful and unreasonable. Sophocles uses these character flaws to show the people that excessive pride and stubbornness will lead to their downfall. Antigone feels love for her brother and is passionate and stubborn about burying him. Sophocles showed that being too passionate can lead to your downfall in Antigone. Polyneices was a warrior, therefore, Antigone thinks that Polyneices “fought just as bravely” and should have been buried just like Eteocles (Prologue 18). Antigone should not have buried Polyneices because of the consequences that Creon has decreed. Unfortunately, her stubbornness allowed her to be caught and she never surrendered to

Sophocles uses Creon's tragic flaw to show the negative parts of pride. Creon’s goal is to be a good ruler and he needs the people’s loyalty to accomplish this goal. He shows his tragic flaw in the beginning of the story where he first declares that “Polyneices, is to have no burial” because of his betrayal of the state (Scene 1, 43). Creon is afraid of what might happen to the city if he shows pity to an enemy. Antigone expands the vision of this when she breaks the law and buries Polyneices. He is too prideful to save his own cousin and even sentences Ismene just to look out for his throne. Another show of pride is when he threatens the sentry just for telling him dreadful news. Creon threatens the sentry to "string" the sentry up just because he thinks he is losing control of the people (Scene 1, 141). Creon even values his pride over his own son, sentenced him to death with Antigone. Despite his anger, Haimon tells Creon to be reasonable, but Creon’s pride gets in the way of reason. Creon meets death when his wife and son die because of the decision he